


What If

by milkteahoe



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: (the percy jackson version of it anyway), BAMF Hazel Levesque, BAMF Nico di Angelo, Canonical Character Death, Dead Hazel Levesque, Gen, I feel like ive backed myself into a corner, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Temporary Character Death, Underworld, Written in 2015 in an English exam, also i just finshed my land law exam so its not like i HAD to pull an all nighter, anyway i may never write another fic so this is it fam, i have no idea how to paragraph but i know i like short ones so, if i rmb correctly this is literally just a retelling of hazel's backstory, its also almost 5 am why am i typing all this now, its just me as a person, just with more unnecessary atmosphere descriptors, oh to be a mid teen again and your whole future ahead of you, so sorry nico only has a cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28745850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkteahoe/pseuds/milkteahoe
Summary: Hazel Levesque was sitting underneath a tree. The tree was peeling, and there were no leaves, just branches. They were long and knobbly, like skeleton fingers reaching out from the trunk, seeking revenge on the ones who had dared pull it up and kill it.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	What If

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I wrote for an English exam in 9th grade in its original form! Corrected for grammar and spelling but reflects my 14 year old self in all the ways that matter. I haven't dove back into the universe since HoO ended so can't account for accuracy unfortunately. 
> 
> The prompt was "using 'What If...' as the title, write a short story based around the theme of 'possibilities' and 'second chances'". So I obviously had to write an HoO fic. 
> 
> Enjoy the first and only fic I've ever written!

Hazel Levesque was sitting underneath a tree. The tree was peeling, and there were no leaves, just branches. They were long and knobbly, like skeleton fingers reaching out from the trunk, seeking revenge on the ones who had dared pull it up and kill it.

Hazel should know about skeleton fingers- the guards at the Ez Death entryway were skeletons, the patrolling soldiers at the gates of Asphodel were skeletons, even one of the judges at her death was a skeleton.

_You wouldn't believe how tightly the skeleton fingers can grip your shoulders, shoving you and your mother into the Fields of Eternal Wandering, where unfortunate trees killed in the mortal world resided, where those who weren't criminals or heroes stayed for eternity, floating around without meaning or purpose._

Hazel, from underneath the withered juniper, looked up at the sky, or rather the marble-like ceiling of the Underworld, the colour of dried blood and broken promises, and remembered her mother. 

It was before the war. Marie Levesque and her daughter Hazel moved from New Orleans to the Land Beyond the gods, Alaska. They started a new life there, and Hazel was convinced that this time around her and Marie would live a quiet, peaceful life. 

When Queen Marie of gris gris was reduced to plain old Marie however, she couldn't stand it. 

She was born to be a queen, why is she not one now?

She wanted riches and renown, why is she poor and restrained?

Then she joined the war, the bloodiest game of all, for she believed that it would reward her in glory, reward her in fame. 

When Hazel sacrificed herself for her and Mother, they plunged deep into the Earth into the realm of Hades. Hazel was offered Elysium, but for her mother, Hazel agreed to wander for eternity so she would not have to suffer in the Fields of Punishment. 

‘Isn’t life just sacrifice?’

The ceiling twisted like a kaleidoscope.

Hazel couldn’t find her mother in Asphodel anymore. She wondered why she didn’t become an empty spirit like the others. Hazel was forced to wander aimlessly or sit under a tree for hours on end, yet she never forgot who she was, and what she could have been. 

She could have been married to Sammy. She could have graduated from the St Agnes Academy for Coloured Children and Indians, and perhaps, she could have been able to go to university. She could have led a good life. She could have-

Hazel sighed. 

There is no way to get out of Asphodel. The skeleton guards would grab her and push her back through the gates. Even if she could get past the guards, the Styx would burn her of her existence if she tried to cross it. 

Sometimes Hazel tried not to think. It’s hard to be the only one conscious enough to do that in Asphodel. Hazel closed her eyes and let a tear escape from her lids. 

Suddenly, she head the sound of hooves. 

Her eyes flew open.

In front of her was a pale boy on a jet black horse. He was wearing all black as well, his aviator jacket hung on his lean frame. A ring in the shape of a skull glistened on his index finger. 

“I’m Nico,” the boy said.

Hazel was stunned. No one ever talks to her in Asphodel, and no one ever has a horse. 

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to rescue you. Your essence is so clear, your aura so strong- you must be a demigod.”

Hazel gaped at Nico. No, that’s impossible, her, a demigod?

“Come with me,” Nico said. Hazel reached out eagerly. Nico pulled her onto the horse. 

No more what ifs now. Hazel is not going to waste any more time wandering. She’s going to make her first death worth it. 

This is her second chance. 

**Author's Note:**

> I lied. I made stylistic edits. Some are still there, but I really liked my metaphors and commas.
> 
> If you're wondering what the teacher's said- "some lines rather fragmented. consider whether this is your intention." And at the ending, " ascvhd (unintelligible) climax".
> 
> I don't remember what mark I got out of 15 tho
> 
> If anyone reads this at all yall can follow me on tumblr @milkteahoe


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